Russia’s Roscosmos, together with the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center and Rosatom, plans to implement a project to resume nuclear rocket engine research, said Denis Kutovoy, deputy director of the corporation’s space systems department.

"We have a project that we plan to implement jointly with the Kurchatov Institute and organizations of the Rosatom State Corporation: resuming nuclear rocket engine research," Kutovoy said, answering questions at the Russian Space Forum.

On April 7, at a meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) entitled Space as a Source of Scientific Knowledge, Progress, and Cooperation, President of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center Mikhail Kovalchuk said that the design concept for a nuclear rocket engine for lunar flights and deep space missions would be completed in 2026. According to the slide accompanying Kovalchuk’s presentation, the design concept for a nuclear rocket engine will be completed in 2026, and advanced experimental design work is planned for 2028-2032.